peteharvey

So, Bridgestone Turanza EL440 I presume?
Turanza tells us that it is Bridgestone's touring nee luxury-sports tire, as opposed to Potenza which is Bridgestone's full blooded sports tire, or Ecopia which is a fuel economy tire etc.
Michelin? Primacy is for touring, ie luxury-sports. Pilot is for sports.
Sports tires tend to have stiff carcass constructions which are great for handling esp dry handling, but poor ride.

235/45 R18 I presume?

Can you tell us what the load and speed rating is?
94V I presume?
A load rating of 94 indicates a load rating of 670 kg metric.
Each digit goes up by 20 kg, ie 97 will be rated for 730 kg metric.
A 94 load rating is quite low for this type of vehicle, and that is great for comfort and quietness.
Avoid higher and especially avoid significantly higher ratings than the manufacturer's recommendation like 101 etc.
While a speed rating of V indicates it is rated to 240 kph metric - which is good for comfort and quietness!
The lower the load and speed rating, the softer the compound and the softer the carcass construction.
For maximum comfort, I would avoid W speed rating of 270 kph metric, and really avoid Y speed ratings of 300 kph metric.

On your sidewall, can you let us know the UTQG rating.
For example, I suspect the Turanza EL440 has an UTQG wear rating of some 480?
That means that 480 will wear 4.8 times more slowly than a tire with an UTQG wear rating of 100.
The harder the compound, the higher the wear rating, and the better the mileage - however, the downside is less grip and a harder ride with greater noise!
Hence, the Turanza EL440's wear rating of 480 is really designed for long mileage to save $$$.
Generally speaking, a tire compound of hardness of 480 is NOT good for comfort nor quietness.
Theoretically, a tire with a hard compound could partially make up for comfort with soft baggy sidewalls, however on initial impact with bump, you will still feel the initial sharpness, before you feel the float/wallow on air of the softer sidewalls.

In Europe, they sell the Turanza T005.
In Asia like Singapore etc, they sell the Turanza T005A, where the A stands for Asia, and this tire has a wear index of only 280, hence its reputation for smoothest ride in class, but please don't expect mileage to be great with such a soft compound; tire design is a compromize.
Eg, the Dunlop Direzza ZIII, where Direzza indicates a full blooded sports tire, has a wear index of only 200; great for grip, but poor mileage.
The Dunlop SP Sport Maxx, despite the sports name - is really only a touring luxury-sports tire with an UTQG wear index of 280 for softness and quietness, however it is the 94Y 300 kph Autobahn speed rating that makes it stiffer than normal.

Hence, economy tires have a harder compound for higher mileage.
Economy tires can have flexible or stiff sidewalls with high speed ratings like W and Y - depending on comfort or speed/handling requirements.
Luxury tires best have reasonably soft compounds together with flexible sidewalls.
Meanwhile sports tires can have ultra soft [eg 1 race only] to soft compounds, combined with stiff sidewalls for handling and high W and Y speed ratings.

Also be aware of ambient temperatures.
During cold weather, the rubber becomes hard resulting in poor ride.
High temperatures will soften the compound for a smoother ride, but high temperatures will also cause the tire to wear out quickly.

Pay attention to the load and speed rating and also pay attention to the UTQG wear index of compound hardness - and you will have some idea as to whether the tire will ride comfortably and quietly.

Also look at the DOT rating eg 2717, where the tire was manufactured on the 27th week of 2017.
The older the tire, the harder the compound becomes.

Finally, as the tread wears down with mileage, the surface will become thinner, stiffer and noisier.

Denzlex

Their primary focus in choosing tires is MPG’s.

LexFinally

And cost.

Call Michelin — I have — and they'll tell you the best all-around tire for the ES is not the one they make as OEM for it. Countless neutral testers from Tire Rack to Consumer Reports will tell you the same.

Just as Denzlex said, carmakers spec OEM tires for their own OEM needs, not for your all-around use. They face stiff fines if their cars don't get the best possible gas mileage, and they're obligated by law to sell you the car equipped exactly as they tested it to obtain those EPA gas mileage figures. BTW, that's also why carmakers including Toyota are now spec'ing absurdly thin motor oils like 0W-8. It's not because that's best for the life of the car; it's because that fractionally smaller amount of resistance ekes out a fractionally better gas mileage figure during the test.

FastDawg

I agree. As long as you get the right size tires for your wheels and don't differ from what the engineers decided was the best size - not tire - you can get a much better ride and stay within the performance levels the engineers designed.

RobertJay

After reading all this, what is the best tire for ES if you want a soft, smooth and quiet ride?
Thanks

ndunn

Any tire just let out 2 lbs of air.

NTH

Go with 215/55 Michelin Primacy on 17” wheels. Too skinny for my liking but will be smooth and quiet.

DocEnuf

under inflate them?

FastDawg

You'll get multiple answers on this based on personal preference. I'm a Michelin guy but someone mentioned Continental and I have been on a Corvette Forum for years where people love them.

.....said no auto engineer ever.

ndunn

Sure why not.

No more than they will be underinflated on a cool morning.

I bought my vehicle out of state and on the drive home I was disappointed that the car was transferring every seam in the road. Pressure at rest was 35 to 36psi and after a few miles would increase to 38psi. I set the psi to 33 to 34 and all is well.

FastDawg

While it's true that any tire will build up pressure as you drive it that is anticipated when the engineers who designed the car decided what the tire pressure should be when the tire is cold - before you drive it. That's what is on the sticker on your driver's side door jamb. When you have under inflated tires, the amount of rubber that is in contact with the road is higher than it should be. This leads to increased friction, which leads to overheating, which can result in premature wear and tear or even a full-on tire blowout.

ndunn

Phew, after reading this response I panicked thinking I must have written 10 psi when I was thinking 2 psi and now someone will under inflate their tires have a blow out and smack a tree at 70 mph. I was relieved to see that I had actually written 2 psi. Thank goodness for that.

peteharvey

(1) The main key are to select a lower objective UTQG compound softness/hardness via tread wear rating like 300 which indicates a softer compound, as opposed to a higher UTQG tread wear rating like 600 which indicates a harder compound.

(2) Another very important key is to select an objective belt flexibility/rigidity via lower load and speed rating like 94H which indicates a maximum speed of 210 kph metric, or a V speed rating which indicates a maximum speed rating of 240 kph metric.
Thus, avoiding higher load and speed ratings like W which is designed to travel up to 270 kph metric, or Y which is designed to travel to 300 kph metric.

NB In my experience, the rigidity of the construction via load & speed rating affects performance, comfort & quietness more than the compound hardness!

Then comes the wheel dimensions like 18" x 8.0" with +45 mm offset and 5x114.3 mm PCD as well as tire dimensions like 235/45 R18 - and its effects on handling/ride which most are already familiar with, so I won't bother talking about.

Best tires?
There is no easy answer, because it depends on the location/state you are living-in and the temperatures, and how many sets of wheels/tires you have.

For example, my Lexus 4GS has three (3) different sets of wheels and tires, hence I can use summer tires with soft compound and higher tread wear index like 260 indicative of a softer compound.

On the other hand, someone with only the one set of wheels and tires would have to use All Season tires which often have a high UTQG 600 tread wear index indicating a hard compound.
A hard compound is required to resist rapid tire wear in low temperatures, but the hard compound doesn't ride quite as softly or quietly as a softer compound.

Another example, I still have my 1997 Lexus 3ES with discontinued Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus [now replaced by Turanza QuietTrack or whatever] Tread Wear 600 [hard compound] via juicy tall sidewall dimensions of 205/65 R15 and soft flexible construction limited to 94H 210 kph metric.
The compound is quite hard, and I can feel the sharpness hitting bumps and the noise on coarse roads, however the tall juicy sidewalls and the flexible 94H construction result in a very comfortable ride.

Ultimately, a summer tire with a soft rubber like Bridgestone Turanza T005A with a softness of only 260 and a load and speed rating of only 94W might be good?
This model comes in the one soft 260 rated compound, but two different speed ratings of 94W and 94Y - expect the 94Y to have a much stiffer construction!
Bridgestone Turanza T005A (tirerack.com)

For all seasons with a high treadwear index and a harder compound, Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus 3's with a treadwear index of a high 740, but a load and speed rating of only 94V - are good.
Pirelli P7 AS Plus 3 (tirerack.com)

I have not had much personal experience with the Michelins, but they may be good too.

We can drop by a few PSI, like 33 down to 30 PSI, however we must constantly check the tire wear.
I found that when I used 30 PSI, the outer edges of my tire used to wear prematurely.
Furthermore, at such low pressures, fuel consumption is higher, grip is less, and the tires can overheat for more rapid wear, and a greater chance of blow outs.

In my experience, I still find that despite using lower tire pressures, I can still feel the rigidity and sportiness of my Pirelli Cinturato P7 summers with relatively soft compound and rapid treadwear of 260, while the load & speed rating is a high 100Y for 300 kph metric from the stiffer construction!
For a Y speed rating, the carcass or belting must be reinforced, hence the Cinturato P7 summer with TW 260 and 100Y 300 kph metric speed rating - feels sporty and transmits all the bumps!
Overall, the stiffer hi speed Y rated construction overpowered the softer 260 indexed tire compound.
Pirelli Cinturato P7 (tirerack.com)

FastDawg

I appreciate you posting this in your very detailed explanation. Tire pressures are engineered into cars for MPG and safety. Lowering tire pressures even by a couple of pounds compromises safety. Anyone who has OnStar on a vehicle and gets their monthly vehicle report would see that it warns you that your vehicle’s tire pressure is low even if it’s only a few pounds. OnStar gets their data when you first start the vehicle so the tires are cold. Owners eliminate that warning by keeping their tires inflated to the proper pressure indicated on the manufacturer sticker on the door jamb.

Simply put, it’s not safe to lower tire pressure to obtain a smoother ride.

ndunn

2 psi will not cause the end of times either way. Not sure why you are triggered, is it me?